Here's some more new experimental rules I made for the Sawfish, a fast redeployment vehicle of the Tau. I 'borrowed' the idea from LordDirk from this thread on ATT and was inspired by Null's conversion here, again on ATT.
Sawfish: Lightly Armoured Troop Carrier 70 Points
The Sawfish has only been in use for a short number of years but has quickly gained a wide use across many Cadres and battlefields. Although it was originally developed as an alternate transport for small Pathfinder squads, as its small size, incredible speed and open design make it perfect for scout missions, many Fire Warrior squads have taken to using it in lieu of the larger and slower Devilfish. Due to its open troop compartment the troops inside can make rapid deployments and also fire during transit (although this is discouraged by instructors and more sensible Shas’ui).
However this does make the Sawfish, especially its passengers, very susceptible to enemy fire as there is no external armour to protect them. The Fio Caste have noticed this and begun to add a number of counter measures; incorporated shield generators in place of gun drones; disruption pods; decoy launchers; complex A.I controlled evasive manoeuvres and magnetic harnesses (these were added after several incidents involving troops losing their hold and falling to their doom).
As the Sawfish becomes more widely employed many deployment techniques have been specifically developed for it. One technique was first used during especially fast raids as the Sawfish deploys its troops by swooping low to the ground and letting the fearless warriors make a controlled leap to the ground. Several other methods are widely used from primitive fast ropes to small, disposable jetpacks.
Name | Front | Side | Rear | BS | Type |
Sawfish | 11 | 10 | 10 | 3 | Fast, Skimmer, Open-Topped |
Transport: 6 (May not carry Drones unless the Sawfishes own Drones are ejected)
Dedicated Transport: The Sawfish can be taken as a dedicated transport for Fire Warrior Squads and Pathfinder Squads. If a Pathfinder Squad takes a Sawfish it does not need to take the compulsory Devilfish. The Sawfish will not have a Marker Beacon in this case but instead a Makerlight.
Weapons: Twin-Linked Pulse Carbines and a pair of Gun Drones.
Equipment: Disruption Pod, Decoy Launchers
Options: The Gun Drones may be removed for free.
The Twin-Linked Pulse Carbines may be swapped for a Burst Cannon for +5 Points.
Any of the following vehicle upgrades may be taken from the Vehicle Armoury at the normal points cost; Sensor Spines, Targeting Array, Blacksun Filter, Target Lock, Flechette Dischargers, 2 Seeker Missiles.
Deployment Options: The squad and pilot may also be trained in a rapid deployment technique; Swoop Jump for +10 Points, Disposable Jetpacks for +15 Points or Fast Ropes for +10 Points.
Special Rules:
Drone Transport: The Sawfish cannot usually transport Drones other than its own. However if its Drones are ejected or removed it may transport up to 2 Drones (Gun, Marker and Shield) in addition to the 6 warriors it may usually carry as long as the Drones are attached to the transported unit or there is no other unit being transported. Gun Drones and Marker Drones may fire from the Sawfish in the same way as it’s usually passengers. If Shield Drones are being transported then the Sawfish gains an invulnerable save depending on how many Shield Drones are being carried. If only one is carried the invulnerable save is a 6+; if two are being carried then this is increased to a 5+.
Deployment Techniques: Many pilots and squads train, learn or develop many different deployment techniques. These range from incredibly dangerous swooping jumps to controlled jetpack descents. Any squad with a Sawfish can train in any of the following techniques for the above points cost. Only one technique can be taken by any squad. If a squad embarks in a Sawfish but the Sawfish is not its dedicated transport then they may not deploy via any Deployment Techniques even if the units has trained in the same technique as the vehicle; the pilots and squads are too unfamiliar with each other to effectively use any techniques.
- Swoop Jump – After the Sawfish moves (even after moving flat-out) the unit may deploy anywhere directly along the path the Sawfish took. They must maintain unit coherency but can otherwise be positioned anywhere within 2” of that direct line. The unit may not deploy into area terrain, difficult or dangerous, and if the Sawfish moved flat-out the unit must take Dangerous Terrain Tests to represent the dangerous jump. The unit cannot shoot, run or assault on the turn it deploys via Swoop Jump.
- Disposable Jetpacks – After the Sawfish moves (even after moving flat-out) the unit may deepstrike anywhere within 2” of the direct path the Sawfish took. If the Sawfish moved slower than flat-out the deploying unit may reroll the scatter dice for deepstriking. Due to extensive safety measures the squad does not take Dangerous Terrain Tests when they scatter. But as the safety measures not only don’t work if deploying into thick terrain (they actually backfire and make the landing erratic and unstable as it tries to correct the course) if the unit does land in area terrain they will fail the Dangerous Test on any roll of a 1 or 2. Just like normal deepstriking the deployed unit may shoot (count as moving) or run as normal but may not assault. *May only be used once per game.*
- Fast Ropes – Before moving the Sawfish declare where the Sawfish is moving to and also that the unit will be using the Fast Ropes (it takes time to prepare the ropes). Then declare a point along the line, which the Sawfish will move, that the unit will deploy to. This may be on the point the Sawfish finishes its movement. The unit is then placed within 2” of that point. The unit may then shoot (count as moving) or run but not assault. They may be deployed into area terrain but need not take any terrain tests (Difficult or Dangerous). Units can only be deployed onto the top floor of buildings and ruins. This deployment may only be performed when moving at cruising or combat speed and not flat-out. The Sawfish may use its Sensor Spines when using this technique.
I don't think I'll ever use these rules but I would love to make one and use it as a Devilfish and say some advanced new shield technology makes it as tough as one. The idea though of a small fast scout tranport vehicle is extremely cool and especially fitting to my scout Cadre which specialises in fight amongst forests and tight cities.
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